Varsity Eight Comes Up Just Short In Bid To Reach Grand Final

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Yale's varsity eight made a valiant effort to qualify for the grand final at the NCAA Championship but came up just short. The Bulldogs finished fourth in the second semifinal with a time of 6:32.26, a little more than four seconds behind third-place Michigan State. Only the top three qualify to the grand final. Yale, the defending varsity eight champion, will have to settle for a spot in the petite final.

"Our varsity represented itself very well," said Yale head coach Will Porter. "It was a very deep field. One place would have gotten us a spot in the grand final, which would have been one heck of an accomplishment. I thought we raced well. We showed good composure. We just needed a little bit more firepower."

The Bulldogs, though, were relegated to lane seven, fell behind early and were not able to recover, finishing seventh with a time of 6:53.99

"Lane seven on this course is really hard," Porter said. "The inside lanes are protected [from the wind] so the lower seeds get exposed. I thought we raced hard and were engaged in the race throughout."

The Bulldogs will face Washington, Princeton, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington State in the petite final at 10:55 a.m.